Tag Archives: Robin Lord Taylor

John Mayo, of ComicBookPage, and Kay Kellam, of PopArtsPlace, have a spoiler filled discussion about the first season of Gotham. Discussing the show set in the city that inspires Bruce Wayne to become Batman, set in the time when Oswald Cobblepot is just becoming the Penguin (and starting to embrace the name that was once a derogatory nickname he avoided) and when gangster like mobs ran the city under the leadership of more family like structures led by Carmine Falcone and Sal Maroni.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I want to take a moment to talk about the DC Universe currently being brought to life on the small screen. Taking Starling City as presented in CW’s Arrow and Gotham in Fox’s Gotham as the two shows currently shining brightly and with the most episodes to date to talk about. Yes, Flash now has two episodes out of the box, and will probably garner a few remarks, but Arrow is entering its third season, and with four very solid episodes already out Gotham has a head start on Flash in the department of world and character building.

Over the course of two seasons the CW has shown on Arrow that they can build a solid world. Without a doubt that may be one of the show’s greatest accomplishments. Someone who has never read the comic books (myself for instance) can come to the show, a novice when it comes to all of the characters, jump right in with the first episode, and understand virtually everything they are seeing and being exposed to. Arrow takes the time to explain the things that need explaining, and speaks with authority about things like ARGUS so even when I am not sure what the abbreviation stands for, I am positive it holds meaning in their universe and if I needed to know, they would, in that moment at least, make sure I knew (whether or not I retain the information for the long haul).

Gotham‘s first four episodes do a wonderful job of bringing to life the complex world in which Bruce Wayne evolved from a confused boy seeing his parents brutally murdered into the man we will all come to know as Batman. He is, right now, learning, discovering, in so many ways he is witnessing and becoming. Directly and indirectly Bruce Wayne is being influenced by Gotham, and Gotham is helping the boy (whether it means to or not) form the foundation that will in turn create Batman. Alfred and Detective James Gordon are solid male role models in his life. Trying to help to understand what he is seeing, trying to explain the complexities of the world around him, and make sense of the way the adult world operates — recognizing that it is not always right, and sometimes our first instinct of what to do, what feels like an easy way to help is not necessarily the best way in which to offer aid.

Where Arrow is full of action and intensity as Oliver Queen and team Arrow take down those who have failed Starling City, Bruce Wayne feels powerless as he is forced by his age and lack of skills to sit by and watch the goings on of a corrupt Gotham. Gotham is a show about the underside of a city, about the mob-era the inspired a boy to become so much more than it is likely anyone ever imagined he might be, and the criminals who challenged him, inspired him, and convinced him someone had to stand up for what was right, and give his city hope that Gotham could become a better place to live.

There are a LOT of potentially great shows coming out on television this season. Part of me wants to write about each and every one of them, and in time I hope to. Another part of me is trying to figure out the how and when to cover each. Tonight another episode of Gotham will air, tomorrow the Flash will zip onto the air with it’s first solo episode (if you missed Barry Allen’s many appearances on Arrow last season I do not anticipate you will feel you missed anything, that being said, I do recommend them as the show did more than merely give the Flash a backdoor pilot, but rather took the time to give a sense of the man and his personality so he would be a familiar persona when his own series hit the air) and Wednesday Arrow will launch it’s third season on the CW.

One of the truly great things about Arrow, is not just that the show sparkles on the screen, with the hero taking down those who have “failed” his city, but the lead actor Stephen Amell has a passionate and good heart, and is helping his fans find a way to fight for what they believe in — helping people with Cancer and Cancer research currently being the primary beneficiary of all that good intent.

Many actors talk a good game, and put on a good face — but Stephen Amell, during the month leading up to the Season 3 return of Arrow, raised, with the help of his fans, roughly one quarter of a million dollars (yes, as in $250,000) for a Cancer charity by selling shirts, hoodies and other items featuring a design Amell had challenged his fans to design and vote on. According to the site 21354 items were sold, with 100% of the funds raised going to the charity.

At Fan Expo in Toronto when talking about a Raffle Stephen Amell had run to raise money for a family whose young daughter is battling cancer, Amell was very clear about the fact it is his fans raising the money, his fans doing this good deed, his fans who deserve the thanks, and that he feels very fortunate to be a part of all this good work — but he is aware that without the fans none of this would be possible.

Amell’s mother went through Breast Cancer, I believe while the actor has been on Arrow, and after her experience this is clearly a very personal cause to him, but he also has a very clear understanding that people dealing with Cancer want to take back some power in their life, want to embrace their victories, and he is rapidly becoming a fierce champion and Hero to those with Cancer in their lives, or those of their loved ones.

Superheros have long been near and dear to the hearts of those who needed a champion, someone to help them fight the battles that seemed impossible, or more than they could handle alone. With these raffles, and the Represent.com campaign Stephen Amell has embraced some of the best qualities of his hero character and brought them out into the real world.

For two seasons we have watched Amell play a publicly irresponsible playboy who was privately fighting for what was right, and along the way learning a great many lessons about what it means to be a hero, and in the process he was as an individual coming out of a dark place.

The Flash is a show that, from the beginning, looks like it will be following an idealistic man who believes in doing the right thing, in wanting to be more than he is and using it for good, which as a show may serve as a counterpoint to Gotham which seems to feature a great many villains and what, based on the behinds-the-scenes and first look materials released before the show, appears to be an almost Al Capone-ish era of Gotham City.

Don’t mistake me, I believe Gotham and The Flash will be equally entertaining shows, but with vastly different color pallets and feels to them, showing different periods and aspects of life DC Universe, and the three shows combined may well remind audiences that while Marvel is currently dominating on the big screen, the DC Characters have more to them than many recall when put on the spot and first asked to talk about them.

Part of the promotion for the Fox show Gotham, which premiers Sept 22 in the United States, has been the website gothamchronicle.com. Thus far it has had a smattering of content, with some photos, and just a few stories, like the one that will undoubtedly be a striking moment in the pilot episode — the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, the parents of Bruce Wayne who will grow up to be Batman.

Detective Gordon

Gotham, a series which will serve as the origin story of Batman, takes place during the childhood of Bruce Wayne and will feature a host of familiar characters (Penguin, the future Riddler, and the future Catwoman), and faces (David Mazouz, and Jada Pinkett Smith among others).

Based on the list of characters and cast, it seems that Detective Gordon, and the ever popular butler Alfred will also play key roles in the show, perhaps at long last explaining these key friendships in the life of Batman as so many of us know and love the character in his adult years.